Located on Trumbull at Bagley and open just under a year, the store is witty and adventurous and bubbly and clever and comfortable and true to its Detroit and Mexican-American roots. It's a great example of what an independent business can be: a fun, welcoming friend with a definite point of view.

Smallish in size, Mama Coo's carries a little bit of this (vintage clothing and retro home accessories) and a little of that (hand-beaded jewelry and colorful wallets and bags) — plus some cool bilingual (English-Spanish) board books for kids, $1 Milagros, or good luck charms, and quirky but charming paintings by very amateur artists.

"It's "basically things that I like," Lana Rodriguez, the store's owner, says of its stock. "There's no rhyme or reason, but it all kind of blends."

Rodriguez, who is 34, grew up in Southwest Detroit; her family moved to Belleville when she was in high school. She spent time in the Navy, where she was an intelligence specialist stationed on an aircraft carrier, returned home and got a college degree, waited tables and bartended, sold her own resin jewelry and Mexican folk-art inspired pieces in a gallery and, later, at pop up shops, attended a boot camp for aspiring business owners, and won a grant and used it to open the store.

And when she did, she gave it the name her grandfather gave her when she was a girl, Mama Coo, and she gave it her sensibility, too.

"An extension of me and my personality ... that's how I see this store," Rodriguez says.

"It was important for me to have who I am and where I came from. When people come in, I want them to know who I am without having to talk to me.

"Everything always has a little bit of my culture in it. I'm Mexican-American, I'm from Southwest Detroit, I'm third generation."

Lana Rodriguez in one of the housecoats she has for sale in her store, Mama Coo's Boutique.(Photo: Georgea Kovanis)

Rodriguez wants her store to have a neighborhood feel and to that end, has kept a close eye on the prices of the merchandise she sells; looking and feeling good shouldn't have to break the bank.

Most of the nifty vintage dresses and skirts are under $25. Jewelry — new and vintage, some handmade — starts at a dollar or two and goes up from there; the most expensive necklace I saw was just under $40. There's a basket of items — usually ones that have been around for a little while — for $3. (The other day that included small wallets, and bags.) And there's usually a $5 rack of clothes on the sidewalk in front of the shop.

"Everyone is welcome here," she says. "Everyone should be treated like they’re going to spend $2,000 when they walk in the store, no matter what."

While the the store focuses on apparel and accessories for women, it does carry a few items for men, including retro ties that run between $10 and $14, and tie clips. And the gifty items — Detroit-themed mugs and Faygo candles, tote bags, locally made soaps and lip balms, coasters from India, sugar skull car air fresheners — are pretty unisex. Ditto for books and the toys for kids.

Ties for men, $10-ish to $14-ish.(Photo: Georgea Kovanis)

"I just want people to be happy" with the store, Rodriguez says.

Speaking of that, here's something that made Rodriguez happy: It turns out the store is housed in the same building where her grandparents — including the grandpa who gave her the Mama Coo nickname — once rented an apartment.

She didn't know its history until her mother told her.

And that made opening in the building — which is currently also home to a hair salon/barber shop named the Bearded Lady and the Farmer's Hand a grocery and cafe that specializes in Michigan-made foods and products — feel like a really good idea.

"It's about as personal as it gets, the store," Rodriguez says.

Mama Coo's Boutique is at 1701 Trumbull Detroit. For more info, including hours: click here or 313-404-2543.